Judgment:
FAO No.369 of 2009 -1- IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATES OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH FAO No.369 of 2009 Date of Decision.30.06.2014 Shiv Charan ......Appellant Versus Jaswant Singh and others ......Respondents 2. FAO No.370 of 2009 Sanjogta alias Sanyogta and others ......Appellants Versus Jaswant Singh and others ......Respondents Present: Mr. Sudhir Aggarwal, Advocate for the appellants. Mr. R.C. Kapoor, Advocate for the insurance company. CORAM:HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K. KANNAN1 Whether Reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment ?.
2. To be referred to the Reporters or not ?.
3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest?. -.- K. KANNAN J.
1. Both the appeals are connected arising out of the same accident on 13.12.2005. The appeal in FAO No.369 of 2009 is for enhancement of claim for compensation for death of a male aged 22 years and the appeal in FAO No.370 of 2009 is for enhancement of claim for compensation for death of male aged 30 years. The deceased in FAO No.370 of 2009 was riding the motor cycle and the deceased in FAO No.369 of 2009 was the pillion rider when they were hit by the truck Kamboj Pankaj Kumar 2014.07.02 09:54 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh FAO No.369 of 2009 -2- driven rashly and negligently by respondent No.1. As a result of the impact, both of them fell down on the road and received grievous injuries that proved fatal.
2. As regards the claim in FAO No.369 of 2009, the claimant was father of the deceased. He stated that his son was working in a private company as Marketing Executing and was earning ` 6500/- per month. The official of the company was examined as PW8 and he stated that the deceased was offered the appointment as Insurance Advisor on a monthly salary of ` 7600/-. The Tribunal had not accepted the statement of the official as conclusive proof with regard to salary and took the salary of the deceased as ` 4,000/- per month keeping in view the educational qualification of the deceased. The Tribunal adopted a multiplier of 13 suitable to the age of the parent as provided under the Schedule and assessed a compensation of ` 3,22,000/- including ` 10,000/- for funeral expenses.
3. I will take the income of the deceased as ` 6500/- per month as spoken to by the father and also provide for a prospect of future increase at 50% for a young boy of aged 22 years. I will apply a multiplier of 18 suitable to the age of the deceased as per recent trends adopted by some of the decisions of the Supreme Court. I will rework the compensation and tabulate the same as under:- FATAL ACCIDENT Anil Kumar Age 22 years Occupation Marketing Executive Claimants Father Heads of claim Tribunal High Court Sl. No.Amount Amount (Rs.) (Rs) Kamboj Pankaj Kumar 2014.07.02 09:54 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh FAO No.369 of 2009 -3- FATAL ACCIDENT Anil Kumar 1 Income 4000 6500 2 Add, % of increase 50% 9750 3 Less, Deduction 1/2nd 4875 4 Multiplicand (annualized by 58,500 multiplying 12) 5 Multiplier 13 18 6 Loss of dependence 3,12,000 10,53,000 7 Medical Expenses & Transportation 8 Loss of Consortium 50,000 9 Loss of love and affection 10 Loss to estate 5000 11 Funeral expenses 10,000 25,000 Total 3,22,000 11,33,000 4. The total compensation payable shall be ` 11,33,000/-. The amount in excess over what has already been provided by the Tribunal shall also attract interest @7.5% from the date of petition till the date of payment. The liability shall be in the same manner as determined by the Tribunal.
5. The award stands modified and the appeal in FAO No.369 of 2009 is allowed to the above extent.
6. As regards the claim in FAO No.370 of 2009, the claimants are widow and two minor children. The evidence was that the deceased was working as Branch Manager with a private company and was getting a salary of ` 12,000/- per month with incentives of Rs.12,000/- per annum. PW-7 Ombir who was Accounts Executive of the said company deposed that at the time of his death, the deceased was drawing ` 11,400/- as salary. He also stated that out of ` 11,400/-, 50% was his basic salary and 50% was received by the deceased as house rent allowance. The Tribunal discarded the computation of house rent allowance in the gross salary and took only ` 5700/- as monthly salary Kamboj Pankaj Kumar 2014.07.02 09:54 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh FAO No.369 of 2009 -4- which he was getting as his basic pay, adopted a multiplier of 17 and assessed a compensation of ` 7,85,200/- including ` 10,000/- towards funeral expenses.
7. The assessment by the Tribunal is erroneous. I will take the full amount of ` 11,400/- as monthly salary and provide for prospect of future increase at 50%. I will make a deduction of 10% as going towards the tax payable on the income. I will rework the compensation and tabulate the various heads of claim as under:- FATAL ACCIDENT Bhoop Singh Age 30 years Occupation Branch Manager in Pvt. Company Claimants Widow and two minor children Heads of claim Tribunal High Court Sl. No.Amount Amount (Rs.) (Rs) 1 Income 5700 11,400 2 Add, % of increase 50% less tax 10% 15390 3 Less, Deduction 1/3rd 10260 4 Multiplicand (annualized by 1,23,120 multiplying 12) 5 Multiplier 17 17 6 Loss of dependence 7,75,200 20,93,040 7 Medical Expenses & Transportation 8 Loss of Consortium 1,00,000 9 Loss of love and affection 2,00,000 10 Loss to estate 5000 11 Funeral expenses 10,000 25000 Total 7,85,200 24,23,040 8. The total compensation payable shall be ` 24,23,040/-. The amount in excess over what has already been provided by the Tribunal shall also attract interest @7.5% from the date of petition till the date of payment. The entitlement shall be distributed equally amongst the claimants. The liability shall be in the same manner as determined by Kamboj Pankaj Kumar 2014.07.02 09:54 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh FAO No.369 of 2009 -5- the Tribunal. Both as regards the share of the widow and children 50% shall be permitted to be withdrawn and 50% shall be directed to be deposited in a nationalized bank, by splitting each of the claimant's share in 7 equal portions, the 1st portion for a period of one year, 2nd portion for a period of two years and so on till 7th year. The amounts shall be paid directly to each of the claimants on the respective dates of maturity.
9. The award stands modified and the appeal in FAO No.370 of 2009 is allowed to the above extent. (K. KANNAN) JUDGE June 30, 2014 Pankaj* Kamboj Pankaj Kumar 2014.07.02 09:54 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh